Talk About a Stranger

Talk About a Stranger is a 1952 American film noir directed by David Bradley and starring George Murphy, Nancy Davis and Billy Gray.^[2] It was shot by noted cinematographer John Alton, A.S.C. and was based on Charlotte Armstrong's short story "The Enemy". This had been published in the May 1951 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and was subsequently chosen for the top prize in the Mystery Magazine's yearly selection of best stories.^[3]

Talk About a Stranger
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Bradley
Screenplay by	Margaret Fitts
Based on	a story by Charlotte Armstrong
Produced by	Richard Goldstone
Starring	George Murphy Nancy Davis Billy Gray Lewis Stone Kurt Kasznar
Cinematography	John Alton, a.s.c.
Edited by	Newell P. Kimlin
Music by	David Buttolph
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	April 18, 1952 (1952-04-18) (United States)
Running time	65 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$481,000[1]
Box office	$375,000[1]

Plot

The picture tells the story of Bud Fontaine Jr. (Billy Gray), who takes an instant dislike of Matlock, a strange new neighbor in town (Kurt Kasznar).

After his dog turns up dead by poison,^[4] Bud blames the stranger and sets off a campaign to smear his name and spread vicious rumors about him.

His parents (George Murphy and Nancy Davis) can't seem to handle the boy. After Bud endangers the crops in the valley by his vandalism of the neighbor's oil tank, and is told the dog was killed by eating poisoned meat meant for coyotes, Bud comes to realize that people are not always what they appear to be.

Cast

• George Murphy as Robert Fontaine Sr.
• Nancy Davis as Marge Fontaine
• Billy Gray as Robert 'Bud' Fontaine Jr.
• Lewis Stone as William J. Wardlaw
• Kurt Kasznar as Dr. Paul Mahler, alias Matlock
• Anna Glomb as Camille Wardlaw
• Burt Mustin as Mr. McEley

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $278,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $97,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $276,000 despite its low cost.^[1]

Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 33% rating on the Tomatometer.^[5]

References

1. The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
2. MUBI
3. Renshaw, Jerry (April 28, 2000). "Talk About a Stranger". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
4. FilmAffinity
5. Rotten Tomatoes

External links

• Talk About a Stranger at IMDb
• Talk About a Stranger at the TCM Movie Database
• Talk About a Stranger at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• The Children's Court: Disillusionment and Prejudice in Talk About a Stranger, a video essay by Stephen Broomer on Vimeo